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50 free The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trivia quiz covers every version of Douglas Adams's story: the 1978 BBC Radio 4 series that started it all, the five novels of the increasingly inaccurately named trilogy, Eoin Colfer's sixth book, the 1981 television series, the Infocom text adventure and the 2005 film with Martin Freeman and Sam Rockwell. Expect questions on Arthur Dent's bulldozer, Ford Prefect's real job, the Heart of Gold and its Infinite Improbability Drive, Marvin's brain the size of a planet, Zaphod's second head, Slartibartfast's fjords, Vogon poetry, the Babel fish, Milliways, the mice, Deep Thought and why the answer is 42. There are also questions on Adams himself, from Footlights and Doctor Who to Save the Rhino and the asteroids named in his honour, plus Towel Day and the towel that flew to space on a Tesla. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our science fiction books and Doctor Who quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year was Douglas Adams born?
1952
He was born in Cambridge and liked to joke that he was DNA in Cambridge nine months before Crick and Watson published on DNA.
Q 02In what medium did The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy first appear?
A BBC radio sitcom
The first episode went out at 10:30 pm on Wednesday 8 March 1978 with little fanfare and got a huge audience response.
Q 03Why is the Earth demolished at the start of the story?
To make way for a hyperspace bypass
Arthur Dent had spent the morning lying in front of a bulldozer to stop his own house being knocked down for a local bypass.
Q 04What is the name of the alien who rescues Arthur Dent from the destruction of Earth?
Ford Prefect
He is a roving researcher for the Guide who has been stuck on Earth for years.
Q 05Which race of bureaucratic aliens destroys the Earth?
The Vogons
They are described as not actually evil, just bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous.
Q 06What is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?
42
Deep Thought took eons to compute it, then had to design a bigger computer to work out what the Question was.
Q 07What is the name of the supercomputer that calculated the Answer?
Deep Thought
Its creators then had it design an even greater computer, which turned out to be the Earth.
Q 08What was Trillian's name before she left Earth?
Tricia McMillan
Arthur once met her at a party in Islington before Zaphod whisked her away.
Q 09What is the name of the spaceship Zaphod Beeblebrox steals?
Heart of Gold
It is powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive, which passes through every point in the universe at once.
Q 10Which physical peculiarity does Zaphod Beeblebrox have in every version of the story?
Two heads and three arms
The explanations for the extra appendages differ between versions; the film has him hiding the second head under a scarf.
Q 11Which company built Marvin as a prototype of its Genuine People Personalities technology?
Sirius Cybernetics
He was constructed, he insists, much against his own wishes.
Q 12Marvin complains that he has a brain the size of what?
A planet
He is seldom, if ever, given the chance to use it, which does nothing for his depression.
Q 13Who voiced Marvin in the original radio and television series?
Stephen Moore
Broadbent took over for the sixth radio series, and Rickman voiced the film version in 2005.
Q 21What is the name of the eatery that gives the second novel its title?
Milliways
It sits on the ruins of Frogstar World B inside a time bubble, and Marvin phones the diners from its car park.
Q 22When Arthur pulls Scrabble tiles from his subconscious, what does the Ultimate Question turn out to be?
What do you get if you multiply six by nine?
The Golgafrinchans' arrival on prehistoric Earth had corrupted the planet's programming, so the question no longer matched the answer.
Q 23What wiped out the Golgafrinchans who stayed behind on their homeworld?
A disease from dirty telephone receivers
Q 14Which comedy actor narrated the original radio series as The Book?
Peter Jones
He was cast after a three-month search in which at least three actors, including Palin, turned the part down.
Q 15The episodes of the radio series are called "Fits", borrowing from which Lewis Carroll poem?
The Hunting of the Snark
Adams later suggested calling the first six Fits the Primary Phase and the next six the Secondary Phase.
Q 16The theme tune "Journey of the Sorcerer" was originally recorded by which band?
The Eagles
Adams reportedly chose it partly because the banjo gave it an on-the-road, hitch-hiking feel.
Q 17The Hitchhiker's Guide radio series was the first comedy series to be produced in what format?
Stereo
Adams wanted the production to sound like a modern rock album, and much of the budget went on sound effects.
Q 18How is the Hitchhiker's book series jokingly described?
A trilogy in five parts
The US edition of the fifth book was sold as "the fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy".
Q 19Which publisher issued the first Hitchhiker's novel in 1979 after BBC Publishing turned it down?
Pan Books
It hit number one in its second week and sold more than 250,000 copies in three months, a decision the BBC came to regret.
Q 20What is the title of the second novel, published in 1980?
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Adams considered it the best of his five Hitchhiker's novels.
They had shipped off their telephone sanitisers with the rest of the "useless" third of the population.
Q 24Which London sports venue do Ford and Arthur land at in Life, the Universe and Everything?
Lord's Cricket Ground
They meet Slartibartfast there and are recruited to stop the people of Krikkit escaping their prison planet.
Q 25Life, the Universe and Everything was based on a treatment Adams had written for which television series?
Doctor Who
Adams had been script editor on the show's 17th season, and the Doctor's role was split between Slartibartfast, Trillian and Arthur.
Q 26In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, who provided the replacement Earth that Arthur returns to?
The dolphins
It was part of their Save the Humans campaign; the title is their parting message.
Q 27What is the name of the girl Arthur falls in love with in the fourth novel?
Fenchurch
Jane Horrocks played her in the later radio series.
Q 28What job does Arthur settle into on Lamuella in Mostly Harmless?
Sandwich-maker
He is perfectly happy there until his daughter Random turns up with the Guide Mark II.
Q 29What is the full name of Arthur and Trillian's daughter?
Random Frequent Flyer Dent
Trillian conceived her using DNA that Arthur had donated for travelling money.
Q 30Which author wrote the sixth Hitchhiker's novel, And Another Thing..., in 2009?
Eoin Colfer
The Artemis Fowl author had the backing of Adams's widow Jane Belson.